Great thread, Bob! Timmy "Who, me?" Duncan is making quite a reputation for himself as a whiny, poor loser in this series. He's showing the type of mental weakness that second-round-and-done teams show.

What a great victory for a limping Nowitzki and his Mavs. That game added to Dirk's legend in Dallas. It's too bad that no one cares outside of Texas, but this series is a monster. Dirk just delivered a Bird-esque game. Forget Bird, Dirk delivered a Dirk performance.

Great thread, Bob! Timmy "Who, me?" Duncan is making quite a reputation for himself as a whiny, poor loser in this series. He's showing the type of mental weakness that second-round-and-done teams show.

What a great victory for a limping Nowitzki and his Mavs. That game added to Dirk's legend in Dallas. It's too bad that no one cares outside of Texas, but this series is a monster. Dirk just delivered a Bird-esque game. Forget Bird, Dirk delivered a Dirk performance.

Is Dirk his fullname?

I hate Duncan too. If I was a ref, I'd T him up every time he looked at me with that stupid "oh shucks" look.

Great win for Dallas. It was a game where they couldnt execute on either end in the second half like they wanted to, but they found a way to make the plays that counted down the stretch. Dirk and Devin Harris were excellent. Its a great time to be a Mav fan. The future is brighter than today, and today the Mavs are giving the NBA Champions more than they can handle.

Dirk had an outstanding game again. The guy has really stepped up his all-around play. His assist to Stack, offensive rebound off of a Stackhouse brick with 7.9 to go, and the subsequent free throws really show you what an MVP is supposed to do to win close the game. He did that on a severely sprained ankle. No one outside of Dallas really knows this, but Dirk plays hurt alot. He's one of the toughest guys in the league. I wouldnt want another superstar on my team (maybe LeBron). The guy does what it takes to win, and comes out of giving himself to a complete team effort with 27 and 15. Greatness. The Dirk haters can suck on that for awhile. While they're at it, they can shove the pill down their throats that Dirk's team has outplayed the NBA Champions for the first three games in an away series. The Mavs are one boneheaded Stackhouse play away from looking to sweep the Champs next week.

If SA cant adjust to Dirk and Harris on the pick n roll, the series is over.

I fully expect Pop to find a way to throw a wrench into that play though. He's an excellent coach, but what do you do? If you pull Bowen off of Dirk to help, Dirk is open to catch a pass and penetrate the lane or pull up for a jumper. If you rotate Howard's man, he beats his defender with a ball fake and heads to the rim. If you rotate Terry's man, you have an easy path to the lane for Terry. There is a never-ending stream of Mav attackers off of the dribble. It must be a nightmare for Pop, and is proving to shred the most prolific defense in the league over the past few seasons. Pop will have to find a way to stop Dallas's dribble penetration to win.

I still expect the Spurs to take a game in Dallas, and I never expected Dallas to win the series. Everything up to this point of the series has been a surprise to me. Dallas has been the superior team for the first three games. I expected them to overtake SA next season after the youngsters get a full season in their respective roles, but they are stepping up beside Dirk right now. Terry hasnt played well and Stack's been a mixed bag, but Harris has been consistently outstanding and Howard has been dominant at times. Howard is due his usual production upswing home game in game 4. If he and Harris can get points, assists, steals, blocks, and rebounds, then Dallas will be nearly impossible to beat considering that Terry is out there wreaking havoc, Dirk is doing his thing, and Damp is cleaning up the boards and blocking shots.

Play off prediction:
Round two: Detroit wins in 5.
Round three: Detroit in 6. (Maybe 5 if the Heat/Nets are tired out from the last series.)
Finals: Detroit in 6.
I don't care who the Pistons play. That's how it goes down!
(Oh, and if Detroit loses I know this will get bumped. But I'll prolly bump it if I'm right. Heh.)

You sure are going out on some limbs there!

Detroit shouldnt have lost a game against those patsies that they have been served up. Milwuakee? Cleveland? The eastern conference is weak, and those two teams represent best why that conference is inferior. How on earth does Detroit lose a playoff game to a sub .500 team? It's bad enough that they lose to Cleveland.

Detroit shouldnt have lost a game against those patsies that they have been served up. Milwuakee? Cleveland? The eastern conference is weak, and those two teams represent best why that conference is inferior. How on earth does Detroit lose a playoff game to a sub .500 team? It's bad enough that they lose to Cleveland.

The Pistons havent impressed me one bit.

It's the playoffs and teams invariably step up, esp. the first game on their home court. Do you really think that any team is going to hold LeBron James and Michael Redd down for four games in a row? Almost impossible to pull off with the caliber of those players. (And if Detroit had played Memphis they would have swept them as well.)

As for your not being impressed, well, that's how Detroit operates. They play a very defensive style, clamp down opponents break chances, and hit timely threes. They usually win their game by scoring around 90 points and holding their opponetns near 80. Not very impressive untill you realize they did it to their opponents 4 games out of 5 or 6.

Defense wins championships and that will prove to be the case again.

(Oh, and if you think that Dallas is a better defensive team than Detroit you are more of a homer than I thought.)

One more thing about Dallas. If they advance past this round they are in uncarted waters. The Pistons have been getting thios deep in the playoffs for four or five years now. If it comes down to Detroit vs. Dallas in the Finals I like the pistons' chances due to Finals experience alone. Not to mention talent and head to head matchups.

It's the playoffs and teams invariably step up, esp. the first game on their home court. Do you really think that any team is going to hold LeBron James and Michael Redd down for four games in a row? Almost impossible to pull off with the caliber of those players. (And if Detroit had played Memphis they would have swept them as well.)
As for your not being impressed, well, that's how Detroit operates. They play a very defensive style, clamp down opponents break chances, and hit timely threes. They usually win their game by scoring around 90 points and holding their opponetns near 80. Not very impressive untill you realize they did it to their opponents 4 games out of 5 or 6.
Defense wins championships and that will prove to be the case again.
(Oh, and if you think that Dallas is a better defensive team than Detroit you are more of a homer than I thought.)

Wrap it up in whatever bow makes you feel nice and warm, but Detroit lost to a sub .500 team in the playoffs. After that, they went into a series with a sorry Cleveland outfit and have lost a game to this point. That to me says two things: 1) Detroit has problems executing, 2) Detroit likes to coast at times. Both of those things illustrate problems that Dallas would exploit.

Detroit is good, and I expect them to make the finals. If the Spurs make the finals, I expect the Pistons to take it. If Dallas makes it, Dallas will take the rings. That I am sure of. The Spurs are the team that Dallas has to beat to win a championship. The Pistons would be window dressing.

One more thing about Dallas. If they advance past this round they are in uncarted waters.

Not true.

Dallas played in the conf. finals in 03. Avery has won a championship, Van Horn has played in the NBA Finals, and Stack has extensive playoff experience with Detroit and Philly.

Quote:

The Pistons have been getting thios deep in the playoffs for four or five years now.

Not true either.

5 seasons ago, Detroit missed the playoffs with a 32-50 record.
4 seasons ago, Detroit went 50-32 and lost to the Celtics in the 2nd round.
3 seasons ago, Detroit lost in the E Conf Finals to the "powerhouse" Nets.
2 seasons ago, Detroit won the championship.
1 season ago, Detroit lost the championship to San Antonio.

So really, Detroit has been "deep" for three seasons, and has been the representative for the east in two of those seasons. Nothing near the "4 or 5" that you mentioned earlier.

Quote:

If it comes down to Detroit vs. Dallas in the Finals I like the pistons' chances due to Finals experience alone. Not to mention talent and head to head matchups.

Dallas has plenty of talent, plenty of skill, plenty of defensive ability, and plenty of offensive options. Bring on the Pistons and their 6-man team.

Great thread, Bob! Timmy "Who, me?" Duncan is making quite a reputation for himself as a whiny, poor loser in this series. He's showing the type of mental weakness that second-round-and-done teams show.

What a great victory for a limping Nowitzki and his Mavs. That game added to Dirk's legend in Dallas. It's too bad that no one cares outside of Texas, but this series is a monster. Dirk just delivered a Bird-esque game. Forget Bird, Dirk delivered a Dirk performance.

Yeah, the mentally weak Tim Duncan, who put up 35 and 12 and shot 65% from the floor........

Nice to see Dirk has adopted the Playoff Limp. He's not in the class of all time sympathy milkers like Isiah Thomas or Kevin McHale, but he's getting there. Not sure how much more the refs can do for him in this series, though. He practically attempted more free throws than the entire Spurs team. Maybe Cuban can cry even more.